Provenance:

Purchased directly from the artist

Note:

MEL BOLEN (1947 - )

"The land is such a subtle teacher, and there's so much to be learned. They talk about Ireland and the thousand shades of green. We've got that here. And a thousand shades of white and grey as well.”

- Mel Bolen -

Mel Bolen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1947. He began his studies in engineering at the University of Regina in 1967 but, after taking a pottery course as an elective, transferred into the Fine Arts program. Upon graduating in 1971, Bolen worked as a pottery instructor for the city of Regina, and was then offered the position of Head of the Extension Pottery Department at the University of Regina, which he held from 1972 to 1976. During this time he was also exhibiting across Canada. In 1978, Bolen was among a group of Saskatchewan delegates who attended The World Crafts Council General Assembly in Japan, where he visited the ancient ceramic centres of Bizen and Shigaraki, as well as meeting Fujiwara Kei, one of Japan’s “living national treasures.” He soon after established his current practice in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, where he set up his studio and gallery, North Star Pottery.
Bolen has received several Saskatchewan Arts Board and Canada Council grants through the years, allowing him to move away from his commercial practice to a more creative form of ceramic sculpture. He was the 2012 and 2007 recipient of the Premier’s Prize in the Saskatchewan Craft Council juried exhibition, Dimensions. Bolen also served as a demonstrator and exhibitor at the Saskatchewan Pavilion during the Expo 86 in Vancouver, BC. Bolen lives in Humboldt, Saskatchewan.

Selected Corporate, Private and Public Collections

Claridge Collection, Montreal, QC

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2011 Matter of Clay III at Jonathon Bancroft Snell Gallery, London, ON
2010 Melcontent, The Hand Wave Gallery, Meacham, SK
Mel Bolen: Ceramics, MacKenzie Art Gallery Gift Shop, Regina, SK
2009 Induction, Saskatchewan Craft Council Gallery, Saskatoon, SK

Selected Group Exhibitions

2014 Fertile Ground: The Development of Contemporary Ceramics in Saskatchewan, Last Mountain Lake Cultural Center, Regina, SK
2013 Fine Form, MacKenzie Art Gallery,
Mel Bolen and Karen Holden: Two Perspectives, Godfrey Dean Art Gallery, Yorkton, SK
2012 30 Years at the Hand Wave, Hand Wave Gallery, Meacham, SK
2010 Pacific Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
2002 Two Perspectives, Affinity Gallery, Saskatoon, SK

Selected Links

Saskatchewan Art Alliance, Mel Bolen

Playing with Dimensions Exhibition
Saskatchewan Craft Council